Cleveland Indians president Chris Antonetti is Sporting News' 2017 MLB Executive of the Year, as selected by a panel of 44 MLB executives.

Antonetti was the runaway winner in the balloting, which took place during September and early October, as he received nearly five times as many votes as anyone else. Antonetti was presented the award Monday night during the annual GM meetings in Orlando, Fla.

Antonetti's Indians won an American League-best 102 games in 2017 - including an AL-record 22-game winning streak - building off the success the team enjoyed in 2016, when it came within one win of Cleveland's first World Series title since 1948.

In looking to field an even stronger product in 2017, Antonetti's fingerprints were naturally all over the Indians' various offseason moves, the biggest of which was the signing of slugger Edwin Encarnacion to a three-year, $60 million contract in January. The move paid off, as Encarnacion hit 38 homers and drove in 107 runs - both team highs - to pace the Indians to a second straight postseason appearance.

Antonetti, 43, served as Cleveland's general manager for five seasons before a promotion to president of baseball operations in 2015. In his time at the helm, the Indians have gone 196-127, won consecutive division titles for the first time since the late '90s, and won the AL pennant.

This is the sixth time a member of the Cleveland front office has been named Executive of the Year, following wins by Bill Veeck (1948), John Hart (1994-95) and Mark Shapiro (2005, 2007).